Slave trade will never end without African nakbah

 

          The world was recently shocked after waking up to irritating exposé that some Africans are sold like chickens and goats in Libya. Many brouhahas and empty talks were aired without necessarily attacking the root causes of this crime against humanity that feeds on and revolves around international discrimination against black people?

            Slave trade in Africa is not a new phenomenon. It started many years ago; and since then, it has been changing forms and shapes. In this piece, I'll show how slavery is there to stay due to:

            First, world economic imbalance resulting from internal and external colonialism in Africa and world at large is to blame. Why are Africans fleeing their countries risking everything to reach Europe for green pastures? The answer is simple. Many are fleeing conflict, corruption, dictatorship, manmade poverty and unemployment among others that former colonial masters and their stooges in Africa created and maintained despite Africa priding itself of being independent.

            Secondly, slavery has been going on in some African countries such as the Maghreb where the victims are pure Africans as opposed to their counterpart Afro-Arabs who regard themselves as Arabs even though they are Africans.  The www.moroccoworldnews.com (2013) discloses that “at the regional level, Tunisia ranked 122^nd (9,000 slaves), whilst Algeria ranked 91^st (70,000 slaves) and Libya 78 (17,000 slaves). As to Mauritania, where slavery is known to be significantly present, the country ranked first internationally, according to WFF’s modern slavery index.”

            Thirdly, when heartless Europeans and Arabs started slave trade, nobody knew; it would take many years to stop. The first slave trade, according to various scholars, saw over 12 million Africans being shipped to the Americas, Europe and Middle East to be used as slaves at home and in plantations.  After making a killing that enabled it to enter into what is historically known as Industrial Revolution, Europe abolished slavery. Again, the couple in this business is Arabs and Europeans.

              Fourth, since, it was abolished; slavery seems to have resurged recently when Africans with Arab pedigree in the modern Maghreb started selling Africans as slaves. What transpired recently in Libya gives an inkling on what is now going on while the world, especially the so-called international community, has kept mum; simply because modern slaves are sold, restricted and sometimes die in the Maghreb instead of crossing over to Europe. This is good for the holy Europe that should not be invaded and disturbed by Black creatures.

      Fifth, many African countries, mainly those endowed with resources, are facing violent conflict which warlords start war so as to have control on resources they sell to the West.

Sixth, Africa is littered with many do-nothing governments that are good at fleecing Africa and vending its people despite being endowed with humongous resources of value. Aren't such rulers criminally liable like their counterpart slave traders due to the enhancing role they play?

          Seventh, when it comes to poverty, bad governance, corruption and dependency, among others, are to blame. Many African countries are ruled by corrupt and inept regimes whose goal in power is to exploit their countries for narrow and personal interests. Interestingly, such rulers are supported by the west to see to it that it perpetually colonised for the interests of the west. The story is very complicated and long. Again, why have Africans always been welcoming their torturers? What would have been the reaction of the world had Africans sold their modern slave masters in the Maghreb?

            This is where the concept of nakbah, namely catastrophe that requires the victims to take direct actions after declaring days of rage, comes in. If they sell our brothers and sisters, why shouldn't we show them that we are not ready to stomach it? How many Africans are agitating that countries involved in slavery be banned; and if needs be, attacked? Imagine. If those selling and buying Africans were Africans buying Arabs or Europeans, what'd the world look like? This is international racism. You can see it on how, for example, Syrian and Yemen’s conflicts are portrayed internationally while African conflicts in the CAR, DRC, South Sudan and elsewhere are pushed under the carpet by the international media. Even when Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which it is,  the story got more traction than slavery in Libya. Ironically, some Kenyan Muslim community condemned that but fell short of doing so to slavery? Why? Mental slavery may be a suspect.

            Ironically, while our brethren are sold in the Maghreb, some Africans, under Islamic brotherhood, are agitating for the rights of Rohingya in Myanmar as they ignore the plights of those of their own. Islam teaches tit-for-tat as retributive form of justice. Shall those selling and buying our people not stop; Africans need to embark on such justice out of necessity. I wonder to see many Arabs and Indians being welcomed to Africa where they thrive without necessarily reciprocating. For how long will African been taken for a ride? Where are our leaders?

            In sum, the world will never end slave trade involving Africans. It is only Africans who'll  collectively stop it; shall they wake up and take reciprocal and decisive actions.  Resuscitate your economies, value yourselves, cut ties with external and internal colonialism, be it cultural or political, and make sure that you stand for what you believe in as a people; otherwise slavery is there to stay.

Source: Citizen, Wed., 20 December, 2017.